The present invention relates to an apparatus and to a method for loading automatic machines with objects packed in bulk in alternating orientations for the purposes of subsequent processing where, however, the objects must be presented one by one with the same orientation.
Generally speaking, objects are packed together in alternating orientations in situations where, if they were all orientated the same way, they would not stack easily and would occupy too much space inside a pack, making it necessary for large boxes to be used and so wasting space and money.
A typical example of such objects is cassettes for holding recording tape, also known as musicassettes. These have one long side with a thickness of approximately 9 mm and the opposite side with a thickness of approximately 12 mm. For this reason they are packed in alternating orientations in layers, or planes, each consisting of a certain number of rows. In order to make it possible for the recording tape to be inserted in the cassettes, or labels to be struck thereto, it is necessary to extract these cassettes from the pack, arrange them in single file, and send them, all oriented in the same direction, to the automatic machine for insertion of the tape.